No. 14 Loyola wins on Senior Day

WESTWEGO – After two losses on Friday, the 14th-ranked Loyola Wolf Pack baseball team finished the weekend with a 7-6 win over Point University (Ga.) on Saturday. 
 

The program celebrated Senior Day before the game, as 13 seniors were honored for their contributions to the program: Ben Harris, Mike Latulas, Thomas Hakimian, Hunter Ponson, Brady Bowen, Cole Bordes, Drew Lee, William Isaac, Caden Durand, Carter Holstein, Myles Liggans, Jake Cohen, and Grant Goodbee. 
 

The two teams went back and forth in the early going, with the Skyhawks scoring single runs in the second and third while the Wolf Pack scored one in the second and two in the third to take a one-run lead. Ponson led off the second with a single through the right side, and he moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by John Lewis and an error by the Point infield. Ponson eventually scored on a balk to tie the game, 1-1. Trailing 2-1 in the third, Jaxon Buratt started the frame with a single to right, then Nathan McDonald put the Pack on top with a two-run homer to left-center, 3-2. 
 

After both teams were held off the scoreboard in the fourth, both teams scored twice in the fifth to make it a 5-4 lead for the Wolf Pack. Trailing 4-3 in the bottom half, Reed Duthu got a one-out single up the middle to start the rally, then Lee was hit by a pitch, and Ponson reached on an error to load the bases. Lewis came through with the RBI single through the left side after that, bringing home both Duthu and Kash Koontz. 
 

Both teams scored a run in the sixth, too. After Point tied the game, 5-5, in the top half, JJ Garcia and Buratt started the bottom half with a single and a walk to put two on base with no outs. After the Skyhawks got two quick outs, Garcia came home from second when the Point catcher threw the ball away trying to back-pick Buratt at first. 
 

Loyola added to its total in the seventh when Tanner Powell started things with a no-out walk. He moved to second after Lewis executed a sac bunt, then third on a wild pitch. He later came home on a passed ball, 7-5. 
 

Point added a run in the ninth, but Jake Cohen finished the job for his program-record 11th save of the season. 
 

Cole Bordes received the win with an effective seventh inning pitched, as he struck out two of the three batters he faced for a 1-2-3 inning. Jake Clifton also held the Skyhawks off the board in the fourth inning with a strikeout, and Frank Fernandez did his job in the eighth inning to preserve Loyola's lead. 
 

Pack Facts

• JJ Garcia, Nathan McDonald, and Myles Liggans each had two hits in Saturday's win.

• McDonald hit his 11th home run of the season to give the Wolf Pack a lead in the third inning. His 11 homers are tied for the third-most in a single season in program history. 

• Jaxon Buratt totaled four hits in the series to lead the team.

• Buratt now leads the team with a .380 batting average, and he's second on the team with 52 hits and 42 RBI. He's second only to Nathan McDonald, who has 56 hits and 43 RBI to lead the squad. 

• Jake Cohen added to his single-season saves record with his 11th save to close out Saturday's win. It's also the third-most in a career in program history.